While this is not a new sort of promo, it offers up a lot more than the previous year. Two pools of discounts, from much-loved classics to new titles, are up for grabs. But you'll have to keep one eye open as titles are available in limited qualities and once sold out, a new one will take its place.

This promo will run until all titles are sold out. How long will that take? Depends on how fast the games sell.

Who all plans to stay up in hopes of a great deal?]]>Tue, 03 Mar 2015 01:57:25 +0000194309a52da9de185b531cfc697cfca8Epic Games Makes Unreal Engine 4 Development Free For Everyonehttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/epic-games-makes-unreal-engine-4-development-free-for-everyone-r4235
Essentially, Epic is allowing anyone to download the engine and use it for everything from game development, education, architecture, and visualization to VR, animation, and movies. When a game ships, Epic will take a 5% royalty on gross revenue after the first $3,000 per product, per quarter. This arrangement ensures that Epic only succeeds when a game does.

Epic previously charged a monthly fee for the engine's use, but this new arrangement should increase their exposure quite a bit if it takes off among developers, and may pose quite a threat to competing engines like Unity and CryEngine.

]]>Fri, 27 Feb 2015 17:03:13 +0000e8dc153260a59d4f236cfd7439d5dfd3http://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/pc/nihon-falcoms-gurumin-a-monstrous-adventure-coming-to-pc-in-late-march-r4233
Gurumin, a 3D platform game that originally released on PC some 11 years ago in Japan (and then was later released on PSP). Now, the title is being released as Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure here in the West.

The story focuses on a young girl who can see and make friends with monsters (but who are also invisible to everyone else) and must find a legendary drill that can drive away evil monsters known as Phantoms, who "monsternapped" most of the inhabitants in Monster Village.

There are a number of features in this version of the game including updated HD graphics, hidden characters/items, non-linear gameplay set in over 30 stages within a variety of environments, and more.

Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure is slated for release on Steam and other PC digital download services on March 30th.

Source: Press Release

Are you interested in checking out Gurumin?]]>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 23:14:58 +0000b5bd9ec2c8ff3cb0c9f606c1a59ec4b9Individual Values: A Pokémon Feature - Week Ten: Mewhttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/features/individual-values-a-pok%c3%a9mon-feature-week-ten-mew-r4231
Welcome to the tenth week of my Pokémon feature here on Game Podunk! In case you missed the last one, check it out! Stay tuned for future entries coming every Friday morning.

--------------------------------

Mew

Playing through Pokémon Stadium and my copy of Red Version made me super nostalgic for a certain elusive Legendary Pokémon. Things were a lot simpler in the first generation of games. While Mew couldn't be obtained by using Strength on a truck near the S.S. Anne or by the other rumored “secret” ways, it could be yours through a series of glitches that exploited the game’s code like Missingno or similar, infamous phenomena. But this week’s Individual Values isn’t about glitches, exploits or cheat codes. I want to give back to GP’s Pokémon faithful who've been reading these since they went live before the release of Pokémon ORAS...and to bring in new readers, of course!

Now that I’ve collected all 719 available Pokémon, been adamant about grabbing exclusive Event Pokémon when I can, and become more than a little obsessed with hunting Shiny Pokémon...I can typically get whatever I want if I try hard enough. For example: Did you know several Surfing Pikachus were distributed in Japan a little while ago? I traded Dream World Arceus I kept from my old copy of Black for one. So...I suppose it shouldn't shock anyone that I wanted to raise a Mew from the beginning again (the last distribution of Mew was done in 2010 via Wi-Fi around the release of HeartGold & SoulSilver), then got one.

It raised the question: what do I do with my old Mew, that I’d personally raised up to Lv100, who is battle ready and smashed many a competitor when I used him in 5th Gen?

That’s where you all come in! Since this week’s article is going live on the 19th anniversary of Pokémon (Red & Green Versions were released in Japan on February 27th, 1996!) I’m officially announcing the first giveaway of my Individual Values feature, in which I’ll offer up my old Mew, as well as a few shiny and Legendary Pokémon from my personal collection!

Here’s my disclaimer: Every single Pokémon offered in this contest was obtained by legitimate means. I don’t use cheat devices, so you don’t have to worry about any Pokémon you receive from me being of the shady variety. Without further ado:

FIRST PRIZE: One winner will receive my Mew! This FAL2010 Mew is one of the many distributed to trainers via Wi-Fi from October 15th through 30th 2010. He’s fully raised and EV trained to suit my battle style several years ago, so I hope he has a Nature, stats and moves that work for you! Of course, if you’d rather he had different moves...this Mew can still learn any TM, HM or Move Tutor move offered in all sixth generation games!

SECOND PRIZE: One winner will receive three Pokémon I’ve selected as the “second prize” of sorts! The first Pokémon is an untouched WIN2013 Keldeo, an Event Pokémon that is (as of yet) unobtainable in Pokémon X, Y, OR or AS. He was distributed via Mystery Gift around the end of January 2013. The next two are Shiny Pokémon specifically caught by me in my copy of Pokémon Y: a Poliwhirl and Quiladin, respectively! The Poliwhirl has an Adamant nature, and the Quiladin has a Rash nature.

THIRD PRIZE: Keeping my special shiny craze going: one winner will receive all three Shiny Legendary Beasts given to folks who went to Gamestop way back in the HeartGold & SoulSilver days. I’ve always liked this particular Legendary trio best, and I have a soft spot for their shiny variants. Can you guess which one of the three is my favorite?

FOURTH PRIZE: The “Omega Ruby Exclusive” Pack: One last winner will receive every single (obtainable) Legendary Pokémon exclusive to the Omega Ruby version of the game—so this would definitely be ideal for someone with only Alpha Sapphire in his or her possession. Those Legendary Pokémon are: Ho-Oh, Groudon, Palkia, Tornadus and Reshiram, respectively. All of these Pokémon are untouched (to my knowledge), and all were personally caught by me in either Omega Ruby or during one of my previous Pokémon ventures (for example, Masters is the name I called my trainer in SoulSilver).

So, what are the rules to participate? All you have to do is register on our forums and comment on this very article. Tell me what your favorite Pokémon of all time is! Start a conversation about how impossible it is to obtain Mew in this day and age! Theorize what Nintendo and the Pokémon Company may do to celebrate the franchise’s 20th anniversary next year! Tell me what you’d all like to see in future Individual Values articles! I want to hear it all.

Four different winners will be randomly selected by me to receive each respective prize. Fans of JRPGs will certainly know what it’s like to leave their luck up to random number generators!

Please comment on this article by March 13th to be eligible to participate! That gives you guys plenty of time to register and get commenting!

Now then, to close us out, a bit of technical jargon:

All who choose to participate in this contest must own at least one of the Pokémon games on Nintendo 3DS (Pokémon X, Pokémon Y, Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire) and give me his or her Friend Code so that I may initiate the trade. I’ll need 1-5 Pokémon from you, depending on the prize you’ve won. My best piece of advice is to Fly to the first town in your game and catch a bunch of Fletchlings or Zigzagoons so I can give you your winnings in exchange for very little effort on your part!

My giveaway is not officially endorsed by Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, Gamestop, or any other affiliated parties. Any questions can be directed at my via Twitter, but I think I’ve laid out everything pretty well! ]]>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 01:52:29 +0000cfcfc30e3761dbef9fa08c44799f5ae5Pokémon ORAS: Eon Ticket To Be Distributed via Mystery Gift This Weekhttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/nintendo/pok%c3%a9mon-oras-eon-ticket-to-be-distributed-via-mystery-gift-this-week-r4230
Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, but obtaining some of them came with a catch.

Depending on which version of the game you have, you obtain either Latios or Latias during regular story progression. The opposite Lati is then only available to you via the Eon Ticket Key Item, something locked behind a StreetPass component of the game. Up until now-ish, the only way to obtain an Eon Ticket for yourself was to pass by someone who had already gotten one via StreetPass. If you don't StreetPass very often, it makes obtaining your other Lati a pretty difficult process.

On February 27th until March 2nd (that's only a single weekend, which is why I'm telling you about it now so you can act quickly), you'll be able to obtain the Eon Ticket in your game via Mystery Gift with a special code made available on Pokémon dot com, similar to how they handled the Hidden Ability Unova Starters a while back.

I'll let everyone know what the code is and remind you all of February 27th's importance when this week's Individual Values goes live. You're going to want to tune into this week's piece; I've got something special planned.

Source: Pokémon Official Site]]>Mon, 23 Feb 2015 18:46:30 +000060bba73587de9c81e7eb9a508ef928b7Game Bundle Roundup for Week of February 20thhttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/pc/game-bundle-roundup-for-week-of-february-20th-r4227
latest StoryBundle, which is pretty neat). Usually the average isn't quite this high. So, with that said here's a handy list to look over all of them. As per usual, I'll be marking off the games I find particularly awesome in green. Feel free to share what you bought, what you think is a good deal, and such in the comments!

]]>Fri, 20 Feb 2015 17:23:11 +0000a23f9327866d3bafd064964c9f0fcb6fNIS Bringing Rodea the Sky Soldier to North America and Europe on Wii U and 3DShttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/nintendo/nis-bringing-rodea-the-sky-soldier-to-north-america-and-europe-on-wii-u-and-3ds-r4226
Rodea the Sky Soldier for release in North American and European territories later this year.

Rodea the Sky Soldier, a Prope-developed action game by Yuji Naka and Zin Hasegawa, was originally supposed to launch in 2011 for the Wii, but got held up for unknown reasons (possibly due to the decline of the Wii audience at that point) and was in development limbo until NIS America broke the news of its localization and impending release tonight.

Though not 100% confirmed yet, Nintendo World Report spoke with an NIS America representative who mentioned that they are looking into bundling the original Wii version with first print run copies of the game on Wii U, which would undoubtedly be a neat bonus for fans.

Rodea the Sky Soldier is being primed for release this Fall on Wii U and 3DS.

When Dead Island was about to launch in 2011 I was quite excited. It looked like the next zombie game which would differentiate itself from the pack. In the end, I ended up being severely let down by what turned out to be a capable but clunky experience. Fast forward a few years and now we have Dying Light. Although the name avoids painting it as a sequel to Dead Island, it feels so much like one. As sequels are meant to do, it improves on nearly every aspect of the existing zombie formula and manages to create something unique. Although it may not be a rousing success either, it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

Dying Light introduces us to the story of Kyle Crane, a sort of undercover agent who has gone to the fictional location of Harran in order to liberate some information. Unfortunately, right out of the gate he screws up and attracts the attention of survivors—and zombies. He’s saved by a band of survivors, which of course means he now owes them his life. It also happens to provide an “in” for him to gather intel and hopefully discover where the target resides. Of course, the story falls into a predictable pattern where Kyle isn’t sure where his allegiances lie, and it never quite transcends that samey storyline.

Luckily, the game doesn’t live or die based on its storyline. Instead, most of the player’s focus will be continually pointed at gameplay itself. At zillions of points during your playthrough you must traverse Hassan in order to collect items, search an area, or talk to NPCs. This also happens to be a huge, sprawling landscape. Without a convenient method of fast travel (although a zipcord does help once unlocked) you’ve got to trust that Kyle’s arms and legs can get you from one side of the map to the other. He’s got some pretty great freerunning (or parkour) skills to make it through alive.

This movement mechanic is handled surprisingly well. Although not all ledges can be climbed, if you see something that looks ripe for grabbing onto it’s usually possible. Instead of dealing with hordes of zombies on the street you can simply take to the roofs and push lone zombies off them. When a situation gets too hot there’s usually an option to sprint off and make your way to a safer location. At least, that’s true during the day. At night a special kind of zombie lurks and is best avoided until getting leveled up a fair bit. These creatures lurking in the darkness can kill you in one hit! Oh, and nighttime itself is also outrageously dark which lends itself to unexpected deaths for unprepared players.

When you choose to engage in combat (or more likely, are forced to as part of a mission) things feel a bit too similar to Dead Island. Melee attacks are slow and deliberate, which lends itself to a more strategic sort of play—but that’s hard to do with zombies piling up from all directions. Although there are guns to be found, there aren’t many. The real killing blow in early stages of Dying Light is that weapons break quickly. You’ll have to scrounge about through drawers, enemy corpses, and locked chests to collect items to fix weapons a limited amount of times. Destructible weapons is usually an annoying design choice as proves to be the case here.

There are some lovely aspects to be found while playing. The world is gorgeous (if slightly less pristine on PS4 compared to PC), there’s a ton of side missions, large variety of weapons to find or craft, and a well-oiled freerunning mechanic. However, these strides don’t fully overstep the shadow of Dead Island. Techland has still provided less than optimal combat and an average storyline. With that said, most of the time my experience with Dying Light was enjoyable. After shutting off the critical side of my brain and leveling up a bit, the game brings a satisfying zombie romp to current generation platforms.

Pros:

+ Vast location full of freerunning promise+ Tons of weapons to choose from+ Multitude of ways to level up Kyle

Dying Light has tons of promise but Techland ended up falling back on existing design decisions rather than fully embracing change.

Disclosure: This review is based on downloadable code provided by the publisher.

]]>Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:43:37 +00008a701b176cc140888936dad15c5d046aNintendo Download - February 19th, 2015 (North America)http://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/nintendo/nintendo-download-february-19th-2015-north-america-r4224
The flagship game of this week is definitely Kirby and the Rainbow Curse on Wii U, which will available tomorrow starting at midnight on the eShop. You can pre-download the game now if you'd like so you can get it as soon as possible this evening! Also new and definitely noteworthy (if not controversial): Pokémon Shuffle, the free-to-play puzzle game on Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo has also highlighted new DLC coming to Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call including songs from Chrono Trigger and NIER. There's a Citizens of Earth Demo available for those who'd like to try it out. And last but not least, the Virtual Console on Wii U gets AXELAY this week.

There are a few sales and activities (like a Pokémon Art Academy contest) going on--you can learn more about those in the official press release here.

Are you interested in trying Kirby, Pokémon Shuffle or some of the other games available this week? Be sure to let us know!]]>Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:05:23 +00008cad09283d1d6c5fb08daec8a576a72dReview: Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generationhttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/reviews/vita-psp-reviews/review-hyperdimension-neptunia-rebirth2-sisters-generation-r4223
Developer: Idea Factory,

With a name that surely sounds like a K-pop band, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation arrives to follow up last year’s Re;Birth1. Like the latter-mentioned title, this game is a remake, this time ofHyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 (which first appeared on the PlayStation 3). Also, like before, this game is a cacophony of video game references and tongue-in-cheek humor the likes of which few other games can make work. I mean, where else can you fight “Anannymouse” alongside personifications of your favorite Japanese game developers? But as much as the song remains the same, some things are a bit different.

Neptune and our favorite CPUs are finally playing nice, and then they up and disappear. Three years pass and the land of Gameindustri falls into the grips of widespread piracy. To combat this threat of the impending collapse of Gameindustri, the CPU candidates—younger sisters of the CPUs—must face this crisis and save their older siblings from a terrible fate. Oh. I guess that’s why it’s called Sisters Generation. Don’t mind me, I just put that together.

Again, Sisters Generation comes hot on the heels of Re;Birth1 (about six months so, in fact) so expect there to be a lot of similarities between the two. The Remake System, combat, Lily System, and basically every gameplay element is carried over with little to no change. In fact, the largest change is the ability to have four party members instead of three. I could totally bring up that old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but the fact is players who have recently completed Re;Birth1 may find themselves yawning at the lack of changes in the mix.

That’s not to say there isn’t change though. The game does explain some of the games mechanics more thoroughly, like the Lily System—which I made a point to mention how poorly it was explained in Re;Birth1. Then there’s Stella’s Dungeon, an automated text RPG side-game where you can send Stella and her cat Felis into dungeons to gather equipment and the occasional custom chip and monster item required for quests and the Remake System. Doing so is completely optional, but since you literally have nothing to lose and everything (including a pair of shiny PSN trophies) to gain, why not? It won’t make or break anyone’s opinion of the game but it’s a pretty nifty new feature. Plenty of other elements like setting and story are all new, though, including plenty of deviations in story from Mk2. The new locations are pretty gorgeous, and while you do head back to the same dungeon a few times during the story, it’s a welcome change over having multiple dungeons with the same designs, another complain of mine from Re;Birth1.

Like the previous game, the pacing loves to parse out the mechanics, continually adding new stuff to play around with to keep you interested and combat fresh. Just as before, though, since not much is really new, this can make playing Re;Birth2 shortly after the first feel like you’re really dragging your feet. It really makes me feel like the six month gap between games is making some of the better features of the first game feel like a double edged sword here. Just as with the case of the Lily System though, a few things are explained far better this time around. C-Skills and F-Skills (Coupling and Formation Skills respectively) are given more than a passing mention, allowing the player to get a much better idea of how to get the most out of combat by being mindful of party selection and paired characters. And like I mentioned before, you can now have a total of four of Gameindustri’s finest femme fatales fighting at once, which gives you even more options for taking down the flat-footed jagaloons and underlings that pollute the fair land of Gameindustri.

Speaking of polluting… there’s one thing about this game that even I can’t ignore. It… well…you’ll just have to come to your own conclusion on the issue. You see, it’s no secret most of the CPU candidates are very similar to late middle school/early high school age. It’s pretty common for stuff coming out of Japan, so no surprise there. But a pair of them, Ram and Rom, the twin CPU candidates out of Lowee are much younger; in fact, they are often treated as grade-schoolers, if even that. This isn’t so bad since the game manages to keep them out of most of the risque humor—that is, until the antagonist CFW Trick comes along. Basically, everything regarding the interactions between him and the two youngest CPU candidates is easily as inappropriate as the multitude of phallic objects in The Little Mermaid, but Trick will do one better (read: worse). I’ve been assured that his dialogue has been toned down quite a bit, and there is plenty of vocal opposition to his... infatuation with the Lowee CPU candidates, even by other villains. Even so, the creepy vibes still exist so consider yourself warned.

Thankfully, everything else is hardly worse than anything you’d find in yuri anime, but there will be no judgement on my end if you wish to stay away. If you’re still with me though, then I think you’ll find something worth playing here; the best of Re;Birth1 is back. The combat system is still impressive and makes fights fun, while still giving players plenty of options and customization. The Remake system returns, with plenty of ways to enhance gameplay by creating weapons and items, or even by changing entire dungeons around. And lastly, the trademark humor the Neptunia franchise is known for—combined with wonderful voice acting—easily shows off why these games have the ever expanding fan base that they do. I only wish that Idea Factory International would space these games out a tad bit more!

Pros:

+ Combat is fun and interesting+ Humor is off the charts, complemented by a great localization+ More attention is given to elements only glossed over in the previous installment

Cons:

- Few changes to this game from the first- Slowly unlocking the mechanics of the game can be a chore for returning players- CFW Trick

Overall Score: 8 (out of 10)Great

Sisters Generation makes (too) few changes to the formula but manages to remain a fun and witty stand out title for Vita owners.

Disclosure: This game was reviewed using downloadable PS Vita code provided by the publisher.

]]>Thu, 19 Feb 2015 06:22:18 +0000b844b947d3f4f2829acc21c79ee6ef5eFire Emblem 25th Anniversary Concert Event Announced in Japanhttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/nintendo/fire-emblem-25th-anniversary-concert-event-announced-in-japan-r4222
Symphony of the Goddesses concert series for the 25th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda at E3, I was ecstatic. I attended a show not long after the release of Skyward Sword, and I am still waiting for The Second Quest chapter to come near me again. I have similar emotions regarding Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions. I haven’t done an Individual Values piece on the music of Pokémon, but...suffice to say, the music of that series means a great deal to me and those I'm close to.

But the website that appeared tonight? Fire Emblem 25th Anniversary Concert Event? I’m practically fighting myself not to empty out my savings account and book tickets to Tokyo tonight. Few details are known, but for now: it’s taking place on July 24th and 25th, 2015 in the Tokyo Dome City Hall. There also appears to be a countdown timer indicating that something will happen in approximately twenty-five days. Perhaps we'll have more of an idea as to what this event entails when the countdown is over? We’ll offer more information as it comes.

Are any Fire Emblem fanatics in the same boat as me right now? What’s your dream Fire Emblem concert set-list? Be sure to let us know below.]]>Mon, 16 Feb 2015 03:51:15 +0000164f545c22e17e5e9298b1c84b9e3e1eReview: Castle in the Darknesshttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/reviews/pc-reviews/review-castle-in-the-darkness-r4221
Developer: Matt Kapp

I’m a glutton for punishment. I’ve cursed aloud and thrown controllers at maddening, yet skillfully designed action-platformers since the days of Shadow of the Ninja, DuckTales or Little Nemo: Dream Master. I’ve played through most, if not all the essential games that bring “Nintendo hard” to the modern age like LA-MULANA, Shovel Knight, 1001 Spikes, and Rex Rocket. So, when I saw the trailer for Nicalis' Castle in the Darkness, I knew exactly what to expect. I’m going to get gray hairs in my thirties because of developers who dig driving you insane with a few meticulously placed spikes. These are the kinds of games I can’t help but analyze as I play through them (because I spend so long dying over and over in any given level).

There are two schools of game design when it comes to evoking nostalgia. The first includes games that seem to be inspired by the past, but wish to evolve tried and true formulas with modern ideas. The second are those games that do everything short of teleporting you back to the past, because of limitations developers/designers impose upon themselves to make a game feel like it belongs in the late eighties or early nineties. Castle in the Darkness is definitely an example of the latter.

There’s not much to the game’s story beyond what you see in the trailer or the first five minutes. In terms of protagonists, there’s a surviving soldier, a princess, and a frog. There’s little development to be had between them because the game’s script is purposefully confined to match any original Nintendo game you've ever played. With that in mind, the game’s writing still has its humor and charm; developer Matt Kapp definitely knows his audience. There’s more than one Legend of Zelda reference sprinkled into your adventure, and there’s even a few nods to other Nicalis-published games if you do a bit of exploring.

Staying with talk of the game’s presentation: the visuals manage to successfully emulate the intended era, as well as push the envelope a bit. In fact, the word PEE is written out in stars on the night sky of an area; you can spot that subliminal humor if you’re looking hard enough. The soundtrack is definitely quality work as well, but while each tune is catchy, Castle in the Darkness lacks the musical variance you’d typically find in recent games like it. Still, I think the game’s presentation as a whole is purposefully limiting, to make you feel like you’re in 1987. I can’t fault it for being consistent with its identity.

I could write a novel on the things this gameplay does to a person—both good and bad. To prevent myself from doing so, I’ll first address this—there are plenty of things to do outside of the “main” experience. The title menu has a whole section of secrets...from an “Easy Mode” that mocks you if you die enough, to a “Prologue” of sorts and other early game builds from early development. Of course, there are achievements too. There’s even a New Game+. For just under six dollars in price, there’s certainly a lot to play.

Mechanically, though, you’ll start to see why the game is priced like it is. I recall looking at my game time somewhere close to the end. The game itself had my total playtime at around two hours at that point, but Steam told me I’d been playing the game for over nine hours. That’s the kind of experience this is—few hours actually registered, but many hours will pass as you attempt to conquer its plenty of torturous trials (there’s an actual part of the game called the Torture Chamber that almost frustrated me to the point of putting the game down).

Your character is extremely fragile at the start of the game, but by the time you make your approach towards the final boss, you'll have collected sufficient health, armor and weapons to hold your own. The most frustrating aspect of the game isn’t the difficulty of the level design itself, but the lack of proper save points in the later portions of the game. In the beginning, the means to save and equip your items are fairly placed, giving anyone brave enough to play the game a fair chance to pace themselves without becoming frustrated. But by the time you reach a point where the game’s entire world is open to you (and trust me, it’s a big, bad world...and it includes plenty of levels, many optional and built for those who backtrack after getting key items that allow you to do so), save and warp points are placed in downright cruel spots. The cheap tricks that some of these level designs and bosses play will leave a great many who want to become more skilled by playing these kinds of games far too aggravated with Castle in the Darkness to see it through to the end, in my opinion.

Without speaking volumes: At the end of most of these purposefully punishing games, I often find myself grateful for them. Despite their flaws, I kind of feel like I’ve been hardened as a veteran platformer-guy for having taken up their challenge. The thing that makes me hesitant to recommend this game to everyone is the fact that you really don’t feel hardened by the end of it. Your ability to overcome obstacles in Castle in the Darkness isn’t necessarily determined by an increase in skill—it’s more due to an increase in stats. Whether you’re getting more health by beating bosses or going way out of your way to backtrack and grab a more powerful weapon, I think it’s less about acquired skill and more about acquired stuff.

At the end of the day, Matt Kapp knew what kind of game he wanted to design, and he was definitely successful at it. In the land of games that are indeed "Nintendo hard," Castle in the Darkness won’t be forgotten. The reason I can’t call this game essential, or perfection, is because most who challenge it will remember it for the frustration it made them feel versus the many things that make it a good game.

Pros:

+ Appealing presentation overall, with just as much humorous nods as it has confidence in its identity.+ Reasonably priced. There's plenty of content to enjoy outside of the main game.

Cons:

- Has major pacing issues overall, with some later areas feeling more unfair than challenging.

Lumen and Umbra. Polarities such as these help illuminate the primary themes for Vita's newest puzzle-focused exclusive: htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary. It is a creative concept brought to light by a designer behind the popular strategy-RPG series Disgaea and it attempts to make its deceptively dark presence known on the often overlooked Sony handheld hardware. Whether this chronicle actually deserves to be written upon anyone’s Vita system, however, is another story.

The adventure has very little in the way of direct exposition. The young girl Mion wakes up in what seems like some sort of dark underground facility and shortly thereafter encounters two fireflies. These two fireflies: a green one referred to as Lumen; and also the purple firefly, Umbra, who presides in Mion's shadow; both attempt to help guide the strangely obedient Mion through these unknown depths.

Both fireflies are the crux of its puzzle-focused gameplay with its light platformer elements in-between. Lumen very directly guides Mion where to go and is controlled via touchscreen in the foreground, while Umbra is controlled by the Vita's back touchpad, and moves about from shadow to shadow in the background. You control both separately depending on the circumstance to navigate the terrain in a mostly linear fashion. For example, you may use Lumen to direct Mion to climb ladders or push boxes/switches, while Umbra can trigger normally inaccessible objects from afar when moving between various shadows.

Beyond light and dark comparisons, disparities is a recurring theme in almost every facet of the title, even down its aesthetic. The visuals will probably seem cute and innocent despite the bleak setting. Well, until you see Mion mangled by shadow monsters, sliced by saws, accidentally hit by boulders, incinerated by flames, or fall to her death. While the visuals do tend to cut out just before it gets into gory territory, the implied imagery in The Firefly Diary is definitely much more unsettling than it leads on to be from a first glance. Yet, it is for that reason that the presentation manages to be so distinct, because it balances two such different tones with one captivating 2D style. Even if, unfortunately for Mion, it feels like everything in the world is out to kill her, and it frankly shall—many times.

If it wasn't obvious already, HtoL#NiQ is a very, very difficult game. No, really, I don’t think you fully understand. I had a PSN trophy congratulating me on dying one hundred times less than halfway through the main campaign. I dare not think about my total death count by the time I finished it. Of course, higher difficulty is not inherently bad, and the Vita is no stranger to challenging titles like Dokuro, or plenty of other ports like with 1001 Spikes. Problem is, HtoL#NiQ is not as good as either of those as a game and it is difficult for all of the wrong reasons, and this is made more obvious in regards to its cheap level-design and disjointed control scheme.

Puzzles and platforming situations have brief bits of novelty with their occasional variety in theme but are quite frustrating in execution. It's not even that the puzzles themselves are tricky, they are either completely obvious or feel kind of random. But, what makes the gameplay go from middling to awful at times is the awkward, unwieldy controls and the incredibly strict trial-and-error design that just doesn't work with it. Difficult games tend to work when the controls are spot-on and there is skillful level-design around it, but this title has neither. On the most basic level, there is simply a jarring slowness/lack of responsiveness to moving Lumen around and having Mion (very slowly) follow behind to the gameplay that becomes increasingly more apparent over time, and will be the source of most player deaths. That, and inconsistent boss fights and the generally unfair feeling level design.

Some of the most egregious examples of level design are probably two repeating segments that are almost guaranteed leave most players stuck. The first offensive portion is when you control only Lumen after being separated from Mion. However, Lumen cannot touch anything without dying during these segments, including walls. The already questionable responsiveness and the level's obnoxious automatic screen-scrolling is bad enough, but your own hand can easily obscure navigation in these segments as well if playing via touchscreen. The second is that for nearly an entire chapter later of the game, in which there are four of (five if we include "True End" content), the title completely reverses the controls (for no real rhyme or reason behind it) for what is an already difficult part. If it weren't for the somewhat frequent checkpoints these parts would be near unmanageable.

Even if you were smart enough to choose one of the different control schemes (one centered around using the analog), and certain portions were less glaring, I don't think htoL#NiQ is compelling enough on its own as a game. As stated before, most puzzles don't feel smart or satisfying, they are just strict trial and error based that love to toss at least one unfair gimmick before reaching the next checkpoint. And, for whatever narrative intrigue that is hidden through out-of-the-way unlocks, or rather "memories", it is not really worth the hassle of repeating certain levels just to see the true ending when playing through them once is already too much.

Honestly, there isn't a whole lot that is worthwhile in htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary aside from those starving to try something that looks different. Whatever interest it piques through its captivating presentation and dark setting it botches it nearly every step of the way with its incredibly poor control scheme and frustrating, unsatisfying level design. I can respect that Nippon Ichi wanted to try something beyond their over-the-top RPG comfort zone, and it feels like they were on the right track, but perhaps with more controlled guidance lighting htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary's way, it would've been much better for it.

Whatever intrigue that is built up from htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary's captivating setting and visual style are completely lost due to its frustrating controls, cheap level design/bosses, and generally unsatisfying gameplay.

Disclosure: This game was reviewed using downloadable PS Vita code provided by the publisher.

]]>Fri, 13 Feb 2015 18:12:40 +0000bc0573e9c47c22585365c4c8351b46b1Stardock Brings Economic RTS Offworld Trading Company To Steam Early Accesshttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/pc/stardock-brings-economic-rts-offworld-trading-company-to-steam-early-access-r4218
Enter Offworld Trading Company, where money is your best weapon and defense. The plot sees Earth being tapped out of resources by megacorporations, thus humankind turns its attention to Mars as a lucrative new frontier. You'll buy and sell resources, food, water and more as you attempt to outplay competitors and stay alive, and even make use of market manipulation tactics such as hacking, black-market pirate raids and more.

If that isn't interesting enough for you, the project is being helmed by Mohawk Games, an indie developer being headed up by Chris Sorensen (the lead designer on Civilization IV), who is also joined by Dorian Newcomb (the art director on Civilization IV).

Offworld Trading Company makes its debut on Steam Early Access today, so if you like economics and RTS games, you can check it out here. Also, check out the announcement trailer below.

Source: Press Release

Will you be checking out Offworld Trading Company?]]>Thu, 12 Feb 2015 22:24:33 +0000b326a08bb69d28ec5947c8438f12dd66Atlus Reveals Five Classes Coming to Etrian Mystery Dungeonhttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/nintendo/atlus-reveals-five-classes-coming-to-etrian-mystery-dungeon-r4217
Etrian Mystery Dungeon is just under two months away from release now, and were starting to receive some info on what we can expect to see in the series' first roguelike title.

Not surprisingly, the classes revealed thus far mirror some of the main ones from previous entries. The Landsknecht class is the all-around primary melee offense; the Protector acts as the party's tank, soaking up high amounts of damage and setting up protective barriers and such. Runemasters are the resident mages, offering up elemental offensive and defensive magic; Medics are the essential healers; and Gunners are masters of ranged combat, even being able to affect enemies with a variety of debuffs.

We'll likely be hearing about more classes leading up to the game's release as well. For now, be sure to check out the trailers for each of the game's announced classes below.

Etrian Mystery Dungeon is slated for release via retail and digital download for 3DS on April 7, 2015.

Source: Press Release

Are you looking forward to Etrian Mystery Dungeon?]]>Thu, 12 Feb 2015 19:48:21 +0000c27181a18d3b30d14d66a1a56c068548Rumor: Itagaki Hints Fatal Frame V May Come to the Westhttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/nintendo/rumor-itagaki-hints-fatal-frame-v-may-come-to-the-west-r4216
Fatal Frame V (also known as Fatal Frame: Oracle of the Sodden Raven) in the works for the West and that it is planned for release in those territories.

Specifically, Itagaki said:

“Hey guys, I strongly believe that [Fatal Frame producer] Kikuchi Keisuke will release the Fatal Frame V in America, in many countries. He and me have same philosophy from Tecmo days. That’s what I can say for now. I want you guys to read between the lines. Anyway I will play this game.”

Of course, this is far from an official confirmation, but it's entirely likely Itagaki may have first-hand knowledge about this from Keisuke due to their ties from when they both worked at Tecmo, despite Itagaki having departed from the company years back.

Fatal Frame V originally released as Zero: Nuregarasu no Miko on Wii U last year in Japan and has largely been critically acclaimed; our own Ludono even picked it as his best game of 2014. And even though Fatal Frame IV never made it to Western shores, there is reason to believe Fatal Frame V could, in part due to Tecmo's increased partnership with Nintendo over the last few years as well as the fact that the Wii U needs all the games it can get due to its languishing situation with many third parties.

For now, and as with all rumors, take this with a grain of salt until we hear something a bit more official.

Would you be excited if Fatal Frame V made it to western territories?]]>Mon, 09 Feb 2015 19:54:47 +0000631fe0c7519b232b0a0f6b965af015a9Game Bundle Roundup for Week of February 6thhttp://www.gamepodunk.com/_/industry-news/pc/game-bundle-roundup-for-week-of-february-6th-r4214
Bundle Stars Apocalypse BundlePrice: $4.99